In an exclusive photo in this week's PEOPLE, the couple joined close friends Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, in Santa Barbara, Calif., just five days after Clooney proposed to the stunning London lawyer, to celebrate Gerber's 52nd birthday as well as their own happy news.

The ring

Marcel Winston / Getty

In another exclusive photo, Alamuddin has her hand resting lovingly on the back of her fiancé's neck – providing a close-up look at her ring, which Clooney helped design. It features an ethically mined emerald-cut diamond estimated at 7-plus carats and two tapered baguettes set in platinum.

George Clooney on the cover of PEOPLE

In PEOPLE's cover story, sources reveal more details of the surprise engagement. On April 22, Clooney proposed the traditional way – on bended knee.

The actor had visited Dubai in March to meet his Lebanese-born, Oxford-educated leading lady's family, spending time on a yacht excursion with her siblings, says a relative of Alamuddin's.

"They found George very easy to get along with, cool," the family member tells PEOPLE. "They felt at ease with him immediately."